Some VariAC riffage on the Bogner

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hunter

hunter

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Not the best clip ever, but I thought the combination of the Paul with the 100B with VariAC on through the '73 Greyback cab was kinda special sounding, not your everyday lead tone, worth sharing or whatever.

 
sounds great but Im noticing a bizarre trend. The guys who like classic rock have high gain amps and dial them up that way and the guys who play metallica own fender deluxes. weird.
 
jerrydyer":ztv5c5ga said:
sounds great but Im noticing a bizarre trend. The guys who like classic rock have high gain amps and dial them up that way and the guys who play metallica own fender deluxes. weird.
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Well it's like when Gary Moore got himself a Charvel, then an SLO, isn't it? ;)
 
jerrydyer":2yv96csw said:
sounds great but Im noticing a bizarre trend. The guys who like classic rock have high gain amps and dial them up that way and the guys who play metallica own fender deluxes. weird.
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Good call :lol: :LOL: I fall into this category as well. I love metal, but what I normally write/play, I should own a Two-Rock or something, or a Diezel Schmidt.

Oh, the Bogner sounds great! :rock:
 
hat bogner does sound good. built in variac ?? or just voltage drop on PT? thanx
 
jerrydyer":wyhse4ky said:
hat bogner does sound good. built in variac ?? or just voltage drop on PT? thanx
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I think it's more like a built in attenuator/power soak.
 
What is a Variac and why do the people with Bogner 100B amps always mention this?

Was it a option that was available back then for the import market or something, there is another guy in the US who has a video on Youtube with a Bogner 100B and claims it has a Variac.

I dont even know what a Variac is but I want one. :lol: :LOL:
 
The original 100B amps had it, then Bogner dropped the option at the first revision.
 
Well, it says VariAC on the switch and it was standard on the 100B.

When I switch it on it drops volume, becomes a bit more spongy and fizzy. I didn't like it all the time because I ran the amp on 2 tubes, because I actually preferred it this way, but now I tried the 100W and VariAC and bang - there was the TONE.

I do think it's a real VariAC, but only Reinhold can tell I guess.
 
awesome tone man .... actually ..... really awesome tone :rock: :rock: :rock:
 
Thanks guys, really glad you like it. Hearing is one thing, but you should FEEL the impact the amp gives when hitting the strings. You can really feel your guts move as you thump on the low notes.

Anyways regarding the VariAC, here some pics from the amp when I just got it in, it was missing the front panel and still had the first tubes in it, they were SO finished - LOL. The guy did give me a spare quad of RFTEL34s that he had bought in the 90s as a backup, real nice methinks.

So I'm not sure if the things I marked with a red arrow here are the integrated Dummy Load or the VariAC, maybe you can tell. Otherwise, how would I find out if it's a real or a fake VariAC?
 

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I have a ERA variac, but I'm afraid to use it much. I cant afford to blow stuff up. I got it from a German tv repair guy who lives in my area, and retired several years ago. It must be 35 years old at least, but is in fantastic shape.
A lot of amps have a switch that will drop voltage to the tubes at a safe level, my Metro has a dual-output tranny that drops the voltage from 495 to 395 at the standby switch, its a cool feature, I've used it a lot with no problems and it sounds great. Different amp companies do it differently, some seem to be more effective in achieving the desired effect than others.
I think there is a point where you drift past the line of safe voltage drop on the amp, but it sounds great for a short period of time before going up in smoke. A variac will allow you to do this easily, but I'm not sure where the line is, so I dont use it much :(
Nice tone and playing Hunter :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
that thing sounds great :yes:
 
JTyson":11emcluy said:
I have a ERA variac, but I'm afraid to use it much. I cant afford to blow stuff up. I got it from a German tv repair guy who lives in my area, and retired several years ago. It must be 35 years old at least, but is in fantastic shape.
A lot of amps have a switch that will drop voltage to the tubes at a safe level, my Metro has a dual-output tranny that drops the voltage from 495 to 395 at the standby switch, its a cool feature, I've used it a lot with no problems and it sounds great. Different amp companies do it differently, some seem to be more effective in achieving the desired effect than others.
I think there is a point where you drift past the line of safe voltage drop on the amp, but it sounds great for a short period of time before going up in smoke. A variac will allow you to do this easily, but I'm not sure where the line is, so I dont use it much :(
Nice tone and playing Hunter :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
that thing sounds great :yes:
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Good point, I will check what happens to the plate voltage. With VariAC off, it's 570V, so maybe a good idea if it'd go down a bit :yes:
 
hunter":348ddmez said:
JTyson":348ddmez said:
I have a ERA variac, but I'm afraid to use it much. I cant afford to blow stuff up. I got it from a German tv repair guy who lives in my area, and retired several years ago. It must be 35 years old at least, but is in fantastic shape.
A lot of amps have a switch that will drop voltage to the tubes at a safe level, my Metro has a dual-output tranny that drops the voltage from 495 to 395 at the standby switch, its a cool feature, I've used it a lot with no problems and it sounds great. Different amp companies do it differently, some seem to be more effective in achieving the desired effect than others.
I think there is a point where you drift past the line of safe voltage drop on the amp, but it sounds great for a short period of time before going up in smoke. A variac will allow you to do this easily, but I'm not sure where the line is, so I dont use it much :(
Nice tone and playing Hunter :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
that thing sounds great :yes:
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Good point, I will check what happens to the plate voltage. With VariAC off, it's 570V, so maybe a good idea if it'd go down a bit :yes:
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Oh, I'm sure it does, I was really speaking of the variac units, which give you the potential to go well past what is safe for the amp. I think the options that are built-in to the amps are fine, and safe ;)
Yours sounded quite at home with those settings :rock:
 
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